Monday, January 26, 2015

THE GIDDY GRAMMARIAN: COULDA, WOULDA, SHOULDA

by Lisbeth Eng

“Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda…”

You may not be familiar with
the term “modal verb” but we use them every day. In fact, I’ve just used one in
the prior sentence.

Modal verbs are auxiliary
(“helper”) verbs used to modify the main verb in a sentence, and to express
modalities such as obligation, ability, permission and possibility. Though not
an exhaustive list, here are a few common examples:

Can– ability – “I can write grammatically correct
sentences.”

May– permission or possibility – “May I please have
another piece of pie?” “He may be able to help you with that.”

Must– obligation – “You must complete the form in order to
receive a refund.”

Should– obligation or advice – “One should
always be polite when asking a favor.” “You really should read this novel; I
think you’ll like it.”

Would– request – “Would you please wait in
line until you are called?”

Modals are not conjugated the
way primary verbs are. For example, you don’t add an “s” in the third person
singular. “They run; he runs,” but not “They can; he cans.”

Words such as “would” can also
be used conditionally, such as in the following example.

“Would you please pass the
salt?” The implied condition to passing the salt is that the passer is willing
to oblige. People often say, “Can you pass the salt?” to convey the same idea,
but “you can” literally means “you are able to.” Of course, I am able to pass
the salt but perhaps I don’t wish to. If you are asking for a favor, even a
small one such as passing a condiment, “would” is more polite than “can.” You
don’t want to imply that the favor will be granted, only that you would like it
to be.

Similarly, one should not
substitute “can” for “may” when asking permission. “Can I borrow that book when
you are finished reading it?” Well, of course, you are able to borrow it, but
that doesn’t mean I’m going to lend it to you. It is much nicer (and more
accurate) to say, “May I borrow that book?”

E-mails, text messages, tweets
and other abbreviated forms of communication are notorious for misstatements of
this kind. Therefore, please be so kind as to take a few extra seconds to write
“may” or “would,” and help make the cyber world, as well as the material one, a
more courteous place. ♥

Lisbeth
Eng works as a Compliance Officer in the financial industry by day and writes
historical romance by night. She holds a bachelor's degree in English, and
speaks a smattering of German, Italian and French. Please visit her at www.lisbetheng.com.